Stuff You Won't See On The Average Climate Skeptic's Blog

What You See

Visit any climate skeptic's blog and you are certain to see stories like
these prominently displayed:

Buenos Aires gets first snow since 1918 Posted 7/9/2007 7:40 PM BUENOS AIRES,
Argentina (AP) Thousands of Argentines cheered and threw snowballs in the
streets of Buenos Aires on Monday as the capital's first major snowfall since
1918 spread a thin white mantle across the region.

Falling snowflakes glimmered in streetlights, so wide that they billowed
to the ground like parachutes, and so tantalizing that even awestruck adults
reached out their hands or stuck out their tongues to catch one.

By Wednesday evening, the flakes were big enough to hold their shape for
a moment on the street before melting into the pavement, and a dusting had
collected on parked cars in some parts of town.

The flurries tied a record for Houston's earliest snowfall ever and
warmed the hearts of winter weather lovers who have pined for snow since it
last made an appearance on Christmas Eve 2004.

South Africa dusted by rare snow storm Wed Jun 27, 2007 7:37am EDT
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - A rare winter snowstorm dusted South Africa's
commercial capital Johannesburg early on Wednesday as a winter weather front
moved across the country, closing mountain passes and claiming at least one
life.

Winter Weather Hits Las Vegas

Updated: Dec 18, 2008 09:33 AM CST

Winter Storm Dumps Snow in Las Vegas (December 17, 2008) Wednesday snowfall hits Las Vegas Valley. US-95 is closed at Mile Marker 16,
just north of Searchlight due to poor road conditions and an accident. Residents
say its been a while since they've seen snow like this. The National Weather
Service says this could end up being the biggest snowstorm to impact Las Vegas
since 1979.

And of course the story inspired comments like this one:

darn that global warming....running wild again. oh i forgot
it's now climate change so the sleeze politicians and liberals have all the
bases covered no matter what happens. what a joke for all you dopes that believe
that crap. good old gore puts out more gas in one day than the rest of the
country does in one year. don't forget to send your money to him so he can
maintain his billion dollar mansion!

Neal Boortz reliably chimed in with:

Most snow in 30 years. This
global warming is turning out to be a real boon to makers of cold weather
clothing. The warmers have an answer though .. they say that the cold weather is
proof of global warming. What's worse, idiots then nod their heads and say
"yeah, that's right. Told you so."

What You Never See

Nov 3 2008: Wisconsin Record Highs

Marshfield: Today's High: 74* Record: 71, 1978

Wisc. Rapids: 74 Record: 75, 1964

Stevens Point: 73* Record: 73, 1904

Wausau: 72* Record: 71, 1978

Merrill: 70* Record: 70, 1909

Rhinelander: 68 Record: 70, 1978

A new high-temperature record for April 6 (2007) was set today at the 5 p.m.
weather-gauge measurement at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport: 79 degrees,

11-18-2008 Today the thermometer will climb to a high near 78 degrees which
puts us well into record setting territory. The record high for today, November
18th, is 74 degrees - set in 1995 - and it looks like we will smash that record.
For all of November the record high temperature is 80 degrees set on November 8,
2006

July 29 2008: A record high temperature of 101 degrees was set in Memphis.
This breaks the old record of 99 set in 1993.

August 5 2008: A record high temperature of 98 degrees was set in Memphis today. This ties
the old record of 98 set in 1987.

January 6, 2008: A record high temperature of 75 degrees was set today in Oklahoma City. The record high temperature for January 6 was last set at 71 degrees in 1927,
said National Weather Service forecaster Daryl Williams. A record was also set in Oklahoma City Saturday at 72 degrees. The record
high for January 5 was set at 71 degrees in 1927.

Record High Temperatures Possible For DFW, Reporting: Larry Mowry. FORT WORTH
(CBS 11 News) ― North Texas will come close to either tying or breaking the
record high on Monday. As of now, the record high stands at 107 degrees set in
1951. It is 101 degrees as of the 1 p.m. observation at DFW Airport. Counting
Monday, we have had 11 days in a row of 100 degrees. And 17 of the past 18 days
have seen a high temperature of 100 degrees or higher!

Thursday, October 16 2008: Record daily high temperatures were broken Tuesday and Wednesday at the
official US Weather Service reporting station located next to the Mile High
Swinging Bridge on Grandfather Mountain. According to Grandfather Mountain spokesperson, Landis Wofford, temperatures
reached 71 degrees, which broke the previous record of 69 degrees set for
October 14th back in 1975. The daily high was also broken the next day with a temperature of 73 degrees.
The previous record for October 15th was 72 degrees set in 1970.

Regionally, several areas saw record-setting temperatures in 2007.
Southeastern Europe suffered through temperatures as high as 45 degrees Celsius
in a heat wave that killed up to 500 people. In Japan, thermometers in August
reached 40.9 degrees Celsius, the highest temperature ever recorded in that
country. Chart-topping temperatures and severe drought conditions proved a
lethal combination, as extensive wildfires spread in both Greece and the
American West in July and August.

Monday, January 7, 2008, Pennsylvania: The following is a listing of near-record or record high temperatures
recorded on Monday (Jan. 7) and Tuesday (Jan. 8) afternoons.

Location High (Old) Record High (Old) Record Year

Altoona (KAOO) 67 64 1998

Bradford (KBFD) 56 44 1961

Johnstown (KJST) 61 70 1937

Lancaster (Coop) 62 65 1998

Middletown (KMDT) 65 64 1998

State College (Coop) 66 65 1998

Williamsport (KIPT) 58 61 1998

York (KTHV) 68 *67 1998

Tuesday, January 8, 2008 Location High (Old) Record High (Old) Record Year

Altoona (KAOO) 67 65 1949

Bradford (KBFD) 61 52 1965

Johnstown (KJST) 65 65 1965

Lancaster (Coop) 66 64 1998

Middletown (KMDT) 67 68 1998

State College (Coop) 67 66 1998

Williamsport (KIPT) 65 64 1998

York (KTHV) 70 *70 1930

San Jose Mercury News, USA - Nov 15, 2008: San Jose sizzles to new record
high temperature: 81

...RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE TIED TODAY AT TWIN CITIES MN... AT 4 PM...A
TEMPERATURE OF 74 DEGREES WAS RECORDED AT THE MINNEAPOLIS ST PAUL INTERNATIONAL
AIRPORT IN THE TWIN CITIES. THIS VALUE TIES THE OLD RECORD OF 74 SET IN 1978.

AN UPDATED RECORD EVENT REPORT WILL BE ISSUED IF THE TEMPERATURE RISES AND
BREAKS THE RECORD HIGH OVER THE NEXT FEW HOURS.

AT 229 PM ON MONDAY NOVEMBER 3RD...THE HIGH TEMPERATURE AT ROCHESTER
MINNESOTA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT CLIMBED TO 75 DEGREES. THIS ESTABLISHED A NEW
RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE FOR THE DATE. THE PREVIOUS RECORD WAS 73 DEGREES SET
BACK IN 1978.

..A RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE
OF 65 DEGREES WAS SET AT GRAND FORKS UNIV. (NWS) ND THIS AFTERNOON. THIS BREAKS
THE OLD RECORD OF 64 SET IN 1981.

THE AIRPORT ALSO SHATTERED ITS PREVIOUS RECORD HIGH FOR THE DATE. AROUND MID
AFTERNOON THE MERCURY TOUCHED 66 DEGREES...BREAKING THE PREVIOUS RECORD HIGH OF
63...SET IN 1981.

RECORD EVENT REPORT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DULUTH MN 0512 PM CST MON NOV 03
2008 ...RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE SET AT INTERNATIONAL FALLS MN... A RECORD HIGH
TEMPERATURE OF 66 DEGREES WAS SET AT INTERNATIONAL FALLS MN TODAY. THIS TIES THE
OLD RECORD OF 66 SET IN 1978.

On August 24th (2008), the mercury in Nome reached a high of 70°F / 21.1°C,
quite balmy for this latitude, time of year, and coastal location. This broke
the previous record for this day by one degree set back in the record warm
summer of 2004

January 8, 2008, Boston - Weather records have been broken around the state as the
mercury soars into the 60s. The National Weather Service says a record high of 67 degrees was reported in
Boston Tuesday, while a record of 61 degrees was reached in Worcester.

Mt. Washington NH November 13, 2006 The record new record of 44 degrees was indeed
broken last night at the 7 PM Synoptic Observation.

November 16, 2008 01:27 Despite two cold fronts on the way, the weather in Miami set
a record high temperature Saturday. Highs in Miami reached 88 degrees, breaking
the old record of 87 degrees, which was set in 1986.

Monday, June 9, 2008 News: Cleveland breaks record high temperature - Another day of hot temperatures in the Cleveland area is one for the records
books. The official high at Hopkins International Airport so far today is 93 degrees
which occurred at 3:57 p.m. this afternoon. This breaks the old record of 92 degrees set back in 1914.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008: Yakima posts record high temperature (Yakima Herald-Republic). If it felt hot today -- hotter than it's ever felt on Nov. 12 -- well,
there's a reason for that. The temperature in Yakima hit 71 degrees Wednesday, breaking the record of 67
degrees from 1999, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Roger
Cloutier in Pendleton, Ore.

February 19, 2008 Kotzebue (Alaska) set a new daily high temperature record on the 19th when
it warmed to 32‚°F / 0‚°C, just surpassing the previous record of 31‚°F / -0.6‚°C
set in 1962.

Nov. 18, 2008 Phoenix (Meghan Walsh, The Arizona Republic). Tuesday set a record high temperature for the Valley, and Wednesday could do
the same. Tuesday reached a high of 88 degrees, which broke the record high of 86, set
in 1949. Lows will be in the low to mid 50s, according to the National Weather
Service. Monday also set a record high, topping out at 87 degrees and breaking the
record of 86 that was set in 1990.

January 8, 2008 Pittsburgh -- Pittsburgh set a new record
on Tuesday, as temperatures climbed into the upper-60-degree range. The current record temperature for this day in history was 66 degrees in
1937. However, temperatures on Tuesday hit 69 degrees, launching it into the
history books.

Thursday, July 10, 2008 Record high temperature tied in
Hilo yesterday. A string of record high or low temperatures being set or tied in Hawaii
continued yesterday when the high temperature in Hilo reached 87 degrees.

November 17, 2008: Monday's high temperature sets record (Mike Branom,
Tribune) Phoenixs high temperature on Monday set a record, with the thermometer
reading 87 degrees.

June 9th 2008 More Temperature Records Fall. The June heat wave continued to set records today throughout the east coast.
Here are some of the new records:

Atlanta: 98 degrees, with the old record of 97 set in 1995. In addition, this
mornings low temperature of 76 was warmer than the previous high minimum
temperature for June 9th of 75 degrees.

Athens: 102 degrees, besting the
previous record of 99, set in 1926.

Columbus: 97 ties the record set back in
1986

Macon: 100 ties the previous record from 1954.

Other locations in Georgia, including Augusta, Gainesville, Albany and
Savannah also saw highs in the upper 90s, but failed to break any records. Here
at my unofficial weather station, I recorded 97 degrees around 2:30 PM.
Additional records from around the eastern seaboard:

Raleigh, North Carolina - 99 degrees breaks previous record of 98 set in 1999

New York LaGuardia Airport high temperature of 99 tops previous record
of 95 from 1984

Newark, New Jersey ties old record of 99 set in 1933

22 July 2007, Sunday: Record High Temperatures Burn Bulgaria 3rd Day in Row. All meteorological stations located in Bulgaria's Danube plain measured
Sunday new record high temperatures, Darik News reported. Russe turned out to be the hottest town for the day, where the mercury hit
41.7 degrees C around 3 pm. The towns of Vidin, Veliko Tarnovo and Knezha
reached 40 degrees C. The towns of Shumen, Montana, Plovdiv, Pleven and Lovech broke the record
this year as temperatures in all five of them climbed over 39 degrees.

February 11, 2007: Beijing has record-high temperatures on 3 of past 7 days BEIJING, Feb. 10 (Xinhua) -- Beijingers are experiencing an unusually warm
winter with the capital's temperatures breaking half-century records on three of
the past seven days, the Beijing Morning Post reported on Saturday. The mercury reached 14.5 degrees Celsius on Friday, the warmest February 9
since at least 1949, the newspaper said. Saturday's 12.8 degrees was also a post-1949 record. The temperature rose to
16 degrees on Monday, topping all records for that date since 1840, said the
report.

12/13/2008 BBC Record warm temperatures hit Russia by Philip Avery. Over the past few weeks, several records have been broken in Russia for
unseasonably mild weather, including the warmest ever December temperature on
record. In Moscow, a temperature of 9.4 degrees Celsius (49F) was recorded on
Saturday, the highest December temperature in the history of meteorological
observations. Strangely, this record occurred at 3 oclock in the morning, when
usually the temperature would be plummeting towards its minimum. The warm spell has not just been confined to the past few weeks. Autumn 2008
was the warmest autumn for more than 100 years in the Moscow region.

November 1, 2008 REGINA - Baby, it was warm outside in Saskatchewan. It hit 20 C - that's plus 20 C - in Regina for the first day of November, a
record. The previous high for that day was 17.8 C in 1947, the coldest, -22 C in
1984. Saskatoon hit their record of 17.8 C, also set in 1947.

January 30, 2008: It might not feel like it now, but International Falls set a new record high
temperature of 36 degrees at 3:30 p.m. Monday. The new record high broke the old
record of 34 set in 1992. The normal high for this time of the year is 16 and
the normal low minus 7

January 2009 saw a bitter cold spell over much of the U.S., played up
prominently on skeptic sites. For some odd reason, you probably won't find this
one:

Record-breaking Interior Alaska heat wave comes to an end

Published Sunday, January 18, 2009

FAIRBANKS Despite setting a second straight record for warm
temperatures on Saturday, it looks like Fairbanks recent record-breaking heat
wave is over.

A temperature of 48 degrees was recorded at Fairbanks
International Airport early Saturday, breaking the old record of 43 set in 1981,
but the temperature dropped below freezing by 10 a.m. and will continue to head
south the next few days.

The chinook is kind of dying off, said meteorologist Daniel
Robinson at the National Weather Service in Fairbanks about the warm blast of
air that blew into Fairbanks from the south on Wednesday and established new
temperature records at the airport on three of four days.

The high on Friday at the airport was a record 52 degrees, and
a record of 44 degrees was recorded on Wednesday. The high of 45 on Thursday
missed the record by 5 degrees.

This actually mimics the pattern during the severe winters of the late
1970's, a classic example of meridional flow. The jet stream swings far north
over Alaska, bringing warm air to Fairbanks. On the other side, Siberian air
slides along the jet stream into North America.

Anecdotal Evidence Versus Patterns

Anecdotal evidence is of use only if it's true and representative. So
accounts of freak snowfalls are of value only if there are a lot of freak
snowfalls. How do the freak snowfalls compare to unusual hot spells or unusually
mild winters?

So let's see whether record highs are outnumbered by record lows. Let's do
Google searches for "Record High Temperature" and "Record Low Temperature" by
year. Put the phrases in quotes to ensure hitting that exact phrase.

Year

Google Hits "Record Low"

Google Hits "Record High"

2008

140,000

199,000

2007

43,800

71,400

2006

49,500

69,800

2005

48,400

57,100

2004

43,100

53,200

2003

50,300

58,600

2002

46,700

46,400

2001

47,500

49,400

2000

50,100

52,000

Only 2000 and 2002 show more hits for "Record Low." Every other year, "Record
High" wins by a wide margin. This isn't by any means a very accurate approach,
since a weather site that lists record highs and lows by state, say, will be
hit. On the other hand, most of those sites will be hit on both searches,
canceling each other out. And it certainly gives all the skeptic sites a fair
shake by hitting all their mentions of record lows.

It's hard to know why 2008 shows such high hit counts, unless it's that
ephemeral stories are quickly taken down.

A more stringent search is to use the National Weather Service terms that are
actually used in announcements of weather records: "Record Daily Maximum
Temperature" and "Record Daily Minimum Temperature," again with the terms in
quotes to guarantee an exact hit.

Year

Google Hits "Record Daily Minimum Temperature"

Google Hits "Record Daily Maximum Temperature"

2008

464

739

2007

310

390

2006

10

366

2005

213

393

2004

8

328

2003

10

257

2002

7

8

2001

8

173

2000

249

241

For whatever reason, it looks like 2002 was an awfully bland year. The
numbers for record minima were so low I ran the search again, getting very
similar results (the totals posted by Google are approximate and change from day
to day). In fact, the
second time I often got lower numbers. The search results have a very
high proportion of NWS bulletins, but there are others, for example, newspaper
stories that quoted the terms as well. Ephemeral news stories may account for the
higher number of hits in 2008.

The above Google searches were done on December 13, 2008. The totals change
every day. By January 19, 2009, the hit tally for 2008 was 329 for "Record Daily
Minimum Temperature" and 911 for "Record Daily Maximum Temperature."

As of January 19, 2009, there were 138 hits for "Record Daily Minimum
Temperature" plus the year 2009, and 190 for "Record Daily Maximum Temperature."
This despite the brutal cold spell that saw -37 in Caribou, Maine and -44 in
Bismarck, North Dakota. By February 10 the numbers were 300 and 526,
respectively.

Still Skeptical?

Fine. Here's what to do:

Find some extensive data set that could indicate either climatic warming
and cooling, and then, without doing any selection, tally the counts of
warming versus cooling. Things like date of first or last frost, ice-out on
lakes, and so on.

- or -

Explain why a freak snowfall someplace counts more than a
millennium's worth of data on record high and low temperatures.